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TORONTO, April 8 /CNW/ - The Michener Institute's Capital Development
Project was officially launched on April 7, 2009 with a simulated wall and
groundbreaking event on Michener's premises. The event also marked the
groundbreaking ceremony of the CAE/Michener Centre for the Advancement of
Simulation in Healthcare, and the launch of Michener's Capital Fundraising
Campaign.
The Michener Institute, along with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term
Care, is ushering in a new era of health education with the transformation of
Michener's 36 year-old facility into a 21st century team-based learning campus
for all health care providers. The facility at 222 St. Patrick Street, once
fully refurbished in two phases over the next few years, will accommodate
interprofessionalism and support a variety of team-based health care
simulation scenarios, such as pandemics, operating rooms and emergency room
situations, in both virtual and physical spaces throughout 15-storeys and
236,000 square feet.
Applied health students, nursing and medical students will be able to
simulate together in flexible, student-friendly spaces and teaching
environments that will prepare them to work effectively together in integrated
health care teams in the clinical environment. Communication, negotiation,
collaboration, conflict resolution and interpersonal skills will be
emphasized, along with discipline-specific scopes of practice.
"I am very pleased to herald the start of the transformation of The
Michener Institute into a state-of-the-art school, modernized to support
interprofessional education, advanced infrastructural technologies, and
integrated simulated learning," announced Paul Gamble, President and CEO, The
Michener Institute at the simulated wall and groundbreaking event. "Michener's
revitalized space is designed to enhance the student team experience and
better prepare our future health care providers to respond to patient needs."
The Michener Institute will also feature the CAE/Michener Centre for the
Advancement of Simulation in Healthcare. Michener is collaborating with CAE to
draw on that organization's vast aviation simulation expertise and combine it
with Michener's innovative curriculum to create best-practices in team-based
health care simulation. The Centre will be located on the 3rd and 4th floors
of Michener and, when completed in the fall 2009, is expected to provide
team-based simulated training to more than 1,500 students and health care
practitioners per year.
"We are proud to partner with The Michener Institute to develop
cost-effective and cutting edge simulation-based solutions, which will bring
increased safety and efficiency to the professional development of health care
practitioners," said Marc Parent, CAE's Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer. "By building on our respective strengths, we will play an
important role in transforming the health care training environment."
Michener's master plan Capital Development Project is estimated at $69
million, and the campus renovations will be undertaken in stages, led by
Toronto-based architects Diamond + Schmitt. Phase 1 of the retrofit is a
$10.73 million dollar plan, with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's
commitment, and CAE's lead gift donation of $6.27 and $3 million respectively.
The Capital Fundraising Campaign for Michener, boldly named 'Stronger,
Smarter, Better' to refer to the new calibre of graduate, as well as the
impact to the health care system, was also launched to raise the much needed
investment capital to bring interprofessional education to fruition.
About The Michener Institute
----------------------------
The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences is Canada's only
post-secondary institution devoted exclusively to applied health science
education. Since 1958, Michener has educated applied health professionals who
serve a vital role in the country's health care sector in such fields as
medical laboratory science, medical radiation sciences, respiratory therapy,
chiropody, diagnostic cytology, genetics technology, ultrasound and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI).
Interprofessionalism, patient-centred learning and simulation-enhanced
education are essentials of the Michener academic experience for over 5,000
full-time, part-time and continuing education students. The Michener Institute
is publicly funded by the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care and further enriched through partnerships with
universities, private sector companies and leading health care organizations.
For more information, visit www.michener.ca.
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